The Young Victoria

One of the most pleasing revelations of going to see a movie is when you discover the rarity of witnessing a classic in the making. This year, that distinction goes to 'The Young Victoria' which was quietly released on Christmas Day, and has been enjoying critical as well as public success. This movie is simply a gem amongst the ruins of too often over-hyped films which we are told by critics/studios to go see only to be disappointed when the story, acting, etc. falls far short of what was touted in the trailer.

I do not recall even seeing a trailer for this movie, however, it will be the best present you give yourself to go and see it (more than once). The story may have been open to some artistic licence, however, the fact remains that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert spent 20 years together trying to make their country a better place to live. Sharing their lives and work and raising nine children whose descendants to this day are heads of some of the most distinguished royal families in Europe.

'The Young Victoria' was nominated for a Golden Globe for Emily Blunt's portrayal as Victoria. Other awards include a Critics Choice Award, British Independent Film Award and I'm sure that an Academy Award nomination(s) is not far behind (hopefully). This movie is a much-needed ray of sunshine. Rupert Friend is great as Prince Albert, who shows himself to be a supportive partner of his wife who happens to be the ruler of England. Do yourself a favour and go see this movie, you will not be disappointed.

War on Film

When I was in my final year of university, I took a course about the Vietnam War. Not knowing much about the war except what was depicted in Hollywood movies, it was an eye-opening course which was taught by an American professor. Now as I reflect upon my school days, this course has become one of my favourites - war definitely is not something I enjoy, however learning about the history of this conflict and others has been an interest.

For my final paper in the Vietnam War course, I chose to write about how the war was portrayed in the movies. Unfortunately due to various moves, this essay was lost...and I have always wondered how my findings/observances would stand up when read today. Actually, a couple of days ago after having seen 'The Hurt Locker' again, I contemplated re-writing that paper. Today's students will probably be writing papers about the treatment of the Iraq/Afghanistan war in movies.

The movies I selected were 'The Deer Hunter', 'Coming Home', 'Apocalypse Now', 'Hamburger Hill', 'Full Metal Jacket', 'Platoon', 'In Country', 'Born on the Fourth of July' and 'The Green Berets.'

Each a different treatment of some aspect of the war - combat, trauma, homecoming, etc. 'The Green Berets' was recommended by the professor as it really was a propaganda film created to promote the war and increase popularity for the war at a time when protests were beginning and my task was to compare & contrast the other films as to how the characters stories told the larger story of what the Vietnam war was.

It would be impossible to recreate the paper and not be fair as my opinions now may not align with those when I was younger. However, I do recall that my early observance was that 'Hamburger Hill' actually told the story of actual combat quite accurately compared to historical facts. 'Full Metal Jacket' showed the effects of the war on the soldiers, 'The Deer Hunter', 'Platoon' and 'Apocalypse Now' allegorical tales of soldiers starting to question the merit of what they were involved in. 'Born on the Fourth of July', 'Coming Home' and 'In Country' showing the aftermath of the trauma of the war on both the soldiers and their families. War is hell and unfortunately still affects too many lives each day.

'I'm Alive'

Just saw this video 'I'm Alive' by Kenny Chesney featuring Dave Matthews, great lyrics and words to live by, definitely no pun intended.

And the Nominee is...

It is true that I get up early the morning when Academy Award nominations are read out as though I was a possible nominee for an Academy Award (definitely not). One would wonder why I bother when even those who are actually nominated often times are either working (or working hard to appear nonchalant), still in bed, etc. For movie buffs this is the annual recognition pinnacle for the movie business. To appreciate the spectacle, it must be viewed live - watching a re-airing of the announcements is just not the same.

The 2010 Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 5:30am Pacific. The award show will air on Sunday, March 7 which is about two weeks later than usual due to the Winter Olympic Games. Mark your calendars.

The rules and eligiblity for the Academy Awards illustrate what an impressive process it is to submit work to be considered for a nomination.

It has been said that the Golden Globe Awards (Hollywood Foreign Press) often serve as an indicator of who/what will be nominated/win an Oscar. This year the Golden Globe nominees are as follows http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/ I will only speak to the movie nominations and leave the TV nominations for another blog entry.

These are my musings only, however, you should know that I have seen nearly all the movies/performances nominated - leaving Hollywood politics aside, these are the nominees I would like to see/deserve to win. Good luck to all the nominees, including those not mentioned here:

Best Picture - drama - The Hurt Locker - great film about a difficult & complex topic. Two words, Jeremy Renner.

Best Actress - drama - Gabourey Sidide - Precious - very difficult film to watch, will resonate with many women regardless of economic background and family situation.

Best Actor - drama - Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart - think he is one of the most under-rated actors of his generation and it's about time he wins an award, this would be a career-win, not necessarily for this part.

Best Picture - comedy or musical - (500) Days of Summer - an under-rated movie which should have done better at the box office; one of a handful of movies I actually looked forward to seeing in the theatre in 2009. Simply terrific, great writing, acting - a movie with heart.

Best Actress - comedy or musical - Meryl Streep in anything really but here for Julie & Julia

Best Actor - comedy or musical - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, please see this movie (500) Days of Summer. It was marketed as a romantic comedy from the guy's point-of-view, although it's not a love story :) It's charming - my bias is showing here but I truly loved this movie and is probably my favourite of 2009.

Best Supporting Actress - comedy or musical - Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air. Natalie Keener, Anna's character, goes from ambitous, naive keener to become a realist yet never losing her spirit for life.

Best Supporting Actor - comedy or musical - Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds. It was like a waltz watching him navigate between an egocentric, calculating & mennacing Nazi officer and showing the ridiculousness of the situation.

Best Animated Feature - Up This movie, animated or not, was one of the best ones of the year. Showing us how fleeting life is and that we should follow our dreams.

Best Foreign Film - I have not seen any of the nominees but the one with the buzz is The White Ribbon from Germany.

Best Director - Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker As I said previously, very difficult subject matter especially as the war is still ongoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is a terrific film - a definite must-see. Plea to the Oscars - please nominate Jeremy Renner, Sgt. William James, for Best Actor.

Best Screenplay - Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker. I am starting to sound like a broken record, if you have not seen this film yet, please do so.

Best Original Score - James Horner for Avatar.

Best Song - "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart. "If music be the food of love, play on" the song in this movie is a supporting character.

Movie Award Season

Movie award season is upon us. This is always a highlight of the year for me, no kidding. I know most people's eyes glaze over at the mere mention of a Golden Globe, SAG (Screen Actor's Guild), Spirit Award or Oscar but for me this period is like any popular sporting event playoffs and championship game.

The Academy Awards have been for me like the Superbowl - I dress up (well, used to) in fancy clothes even though most years it's just me watching the show - not many people have the stamina it takes to sit through the red carpet, show and post-show wrap-up - it takes years of training :-)

Not sure where I get my enthusiasm for movies as it was not something my parents encouraged - they did not like us to sit idle and watch movies, we had to be doing something productive. Knowing who played what part in this or that movie, who the director/producer was and who composed the music was not considered to be a wise use of our time...needless to say I was very creative in how I managed to see so many movies when I was growing up. Forget about having a TV in our bedroom, there was only one TV which had to be at a low volume so not to wake up everyone - why they would always put the good movies on late at night I will never know.

My first theatrical movie was 'Grease', I was a bit young but that didn't matter - most of the subject matter was beyond my understanding and it wasn't until a few years later when I realized what was going on - the music told the story, dialogue was secondary.

Favourite movie of all time, I know that for someone like me who has seen literally hundreds if not more movies would be blaspheme to pick one but you can like/love more than one movie for different reasons - so the answer is - 'The Sound of Music'. I have watched that movie at least twice a year since I was a child - it was so exciting to get a video copy of it for my birthday one year, it would be the first time to see the movie without commercial interruptions. Then when I saw it on the big screen for the first time, thrilling. It's a combination of music, story and actors which artfully created this classic film. Have also watched the live theatre production several times - what can I say, it makes me happy.

Schtuff

December was a busy month - what I had hoped would be a quiet work month turned into a very busy time. So now when the month is nearly over, I have some time to reflect on the month that was - okay, reflection over.

Hope everyone had a warm & wonderful holiday season (Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa). There has been some discussion about the use of the phrase 'Happy Holidays' instead of 'Merry Christmas'. You hear Happy Holidays more & more, including in my workplace where we can't say 'Merry Christmas' in correspondence unless the sender has used it. The official company policy is that the use of 'Happy Holidays' is so no one feels excluded - those who do not celebrate Christmas. I think by not acknowledging what we are celebrating, ironically, that becomes a way to exclude those who do. Just something to ponder.

Just for fun

If only this was so, however this may be one of those times where people may say 'be careful what you wish for, for it just may come true', ahem well not likely but this is quite cute.

To create your own scenarios, go to http://www.faceinhole.com Have fun!

Is it really December?

Can't believe that it is December already! I have been remiss in not posting for a few days. So will try to make the first post in December worth your while.

Lots of discussion swirling around a certain male pro-golf player this week, what can one say - that hasn't been said already. Enough said.

Controversy also surrounding the almost-American Idol, Adam Lambert. I am a big fan of Adam and was shocked that he didn't win American Idol. That said, even I was taken aback by some of his performance - not the kiss - some of the dance moves and making a certain gesture to the audience was not appropriate given it is a family program. He does admit getting caught up in the moment and that some of his performance may have been in poor taste. What we should focus on his his singing, which I like very much. Here is his latest 'Time for Miracles' from the motion picture '2012' soundtrack.